the heart of food is now a little over a year old, having first started on February of 2009. The birth of this blog is in some part thanks to Helen, from the prolific Sydney food blog Grab Your Fork. She was the one that inspired me to start this whole blogging thing, as she has with a number of other Sydney food bloggers.

Over this past year, there have been quite a number of amazing food experiences. One of the things that stands out in my mind are the birthday celebrations of various food bloggers.

Please join me for a review of the food experiences regarding birthdays and birthday-related posts over the past year, including some new material and images. Read more »

Imagine spending an afternoon on the water, just past the heads of Sydney Harbour in a small charter vessel courtesy of Deep Sea Charters.

A beautiful, clear Summer’s day. The wide blue yonder stretches out before you as far as the eye can see. Moderate temperates with a cool sea breeze, carrying the fresh scent of the sea. The pleasant company of friends. Lines over the side of the boat waiting for a sizable catch to take back home for dinner. The gentle rocking of the boat. The more vigorous rocking of the boat. Fending off waves of nausea brought on by sea sickness. Succumbing to the nausea of sea sickness. The cramped toilet cubicle with a toilet so small that you have to make the difficult choice between going No.1 or No.2, as the seat was only big enough to accommodate the motion one or the other and not both.

Believe it or not, it was a great day in hindsight. Read more »

A rainbow of happiness as one food blogger described it, the selection of macarons available on Macaron Day (the celebration of macarons for Adriano Zumbo’s birthday) was astounding! As the opening quote indicates, a veritable spectrum of bright colours and wonderful & unique flavours ranging from the rather pedestrian green tea to the more exotic flavours of cheeseburger. Well, at least by my standards.

Eighteen flavours of macarons were purchased in the morning, while later that day, three food bloggers gathered to sample & discuss the various macaron flavours. Read more »

Adriano Zumbo. A name that is associated with great, unique and occasionally odd collection of cakes, desserts and, of course, macarons. A master craftsman of his trade; I would doubt that you would find a better macaron, or one that is more unique, in or around the Sydney area.

So, when such an artisan looks to celebrate his birthday (Friday, 6th November), what can one expect? Read more »

Zumbo. Zumbo. Zumbo.

It’s a name that I kept hearing within food blogging circles. So much so that it makes me wonder what all the fuss is about. For those that have experienced Zumbo, there was nothing but fanboy/fangirl-like fanaticism. For those that had not, it was high on their list of things to experience. For me, I never got the whole Zumbophilia that had swept Twitter and the Sydney food blogs. Well, that is until recently.

“What the hell is this Zumbo that he keeps referring to”?

Surely, you jest… Read more »